Pacquiao camp ready for any surprise

LOS ANGELES — With 10 days left before the big fight, Manny Pacquiao’s conditioning coach, an Australian, said the Filipino fighter is ready for whatever surprise Erik Morales has in store for him.

Justine Fortune is confident that Pacquiao is just as ready and, in fact, has probably trained harder than the Mexican gladiator who’s still in Mexico, in the mountains of Otomi, gearing up for the March 19 event in Las Vegas.

Fortune goes with Pacquiao daily when he jogs in and around, up and down Griffith Park with his Filipino counterpart Buboy Fernandez. Pacquiao has logged an average of 37 minutes for the tough six-mile jog.

"We’re ready for any surprises Morales might be planning," said Fortune.

"Okay na," said Fernandez, adding that Pacquiao might hit the scales at 128 lbs for the 130 lb, 12-round bout at the MGM Grand. Official weigh-in is scheduled March 18 and Pacquiao is expected to climb the ring at 136 lbs the following day.

Pacquiao will hold his last sparring session on Monday morning before he heads for Las Vegas in the afternoon. In Las Vegas, training will be limited to jogging, punch-mits, shadow boxing and stretching.

"Magandang laban ito. Nakikita ko," added Fernandez.

At the Wild Card Gym along Vine St. in Hollywood, Fortune handles Pacquiao’s exercises which include at least 500 sit-ups from different positions. American trainer Freddie Roach handles the rest.

Fortune also applies the Thai stick on Pacquiao to further toughen his muscles. It’s a pair of wooden sticks the size of an "arnis" that is applied on Pacquiao’s body — especially in the mid-section — as fast as a drum stick to further toughen his muscles.

Pacquiao did his regular workout Wednesday and spent the cold late afternoon with a one-hour visit at the HBO (Home Box Office) here in LA. Pacquiao met with HBO officials and employees.

Pacquiao’s visit created a lot of excitement at the HBO office and those present were just so glad to see the Filipino boxer in person. Morales is not expected to do the same since he might go straight to Las Vegas from Mexico.

Later in the night, Pacquiao treated Filipino sportswriters who just planed in to a hot bowl of "bulalo" in his $4,000-a-month Oakwood condominium. After a little chat, Pacquiao spent some time with his guitar and his Sony play-station before entering his bedroom.

Notes: There’s an abundance of support for Manny Pacquiao here - both from Filipinos and foreigners as well. An Italian priest, Fr. Antonio Cacciapuoti, made special mention of the left-handed slugger during a recent mass he officiated at the Christ the King Roman Catholic Church here. Later on, after mass, he handed Pacquaio a black, wooden rosary, which was personally blessed by Pope John Paul II ... Others offering help in one way or another are James Toney who will be Team Pacquiao’s lead man going up the ring, dentist Ed dela Vega who personally checked on Pacquiao’s dentures for his mouth guard and even ordinary fans, some of them even coming from San Jose, asking how they could be of help. An American lawyer, Richard Wilner, has also promised to help Pacquiao with his green card application - pro bono ... A couple of Filipinos who both played ball in the Philippines are also serving Pacquiao well here – Joseph Jose who played for the 2001 St. Francis juniors squad and Joseph Ramos who played for ICTSI in the PBL in 2000. They are both based in LA.